The Latimer-McGurn Emails

Inadvertently stoking media interest and driving up its pre-launch Amazon.com ranking, top Bush aides have aggressively dismissed Matt Latimer’s memoir as the work of a clueless and disloyal junior staffer out to make a quick buck. Case in point is former chief speechwriter Bill McGurn, who on Monday night posted a withering personal attack on his former employee on The Wall Street Journal's Web site. Never mind that McGurn was once an enthusiastic admirer of Latimer’s work (see emails below). Read Lloyd Grove’s interview with Latimer.

Lloyd Grove

Published Sep. 22 2009 6:16AM EDT

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From: McGurn, William J. Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 7:39 AM To: Thiessen, Marc A.; Latimer, Matthew N.; Michel, Christopher, G. Subject: Turkey remarks

Chief made a point at Senior Staff how much he enjoyed today’s Turkey Pardoning remarks. I noted it is another Latimer special. And Sully chimed in with praise for the adoption remarks…So take a bow, Matt.

From: Latimer, Matthew N. To: McGurn, William J. Sent: Tue Nov 20 08:01:54 2007 Subject: RE: Turkey remarks

Bill, Thanks for the typically generous comments. They reveal, once again, your great kindness and thoughtfulness. And for someone like me—who sometimes wonders what on earth he thinks he is doing here—your encouragement means a lot.

From: McGurn, William J. Sent: Tuesday November 20, 2007 8:10 AM To: Latimer, Matthew N. Subject: Re: Turkey Remarks

Hey, you don’t realize one thing: you’re a star! And that makes *me* look like a freakin genius…

Read Lloyd Grove’s interview with Latimer.

Lloyd Grove is editor at large for The Daily Beast. He is also a frequent contributor to New York magazine and was a contributing editor for Condé Nast Portfolio. He wrote a gossip column for the New York Daily News from 2003 to 2006. Prior to that, he wrote the Reliable Source column for the Washington Post, where he spent 23 years covering politics, the media, and other subjects.